“It is a curious sensation: the sort of pain that goes mercifully beyond our powers of feeling. When your heart is broken, your boats are burned: nothing matters any more. It is the end of happiness and the beginning of peace.” ~George Bernard Shaw

++++++++++++++++++

“Where is he?!” Lisa demanded, but Bob only continued to smile and not say anything, watching the clock slowly, knowing that with each passing second, Bart Simpson was dying, and though this screwed up his plans so he would no longer be there to watch the boy die, still he was videotaping it and the fact that he was tormenting Lisa with the death of her brother was also pleasant enough.

The cops had been driving around in hopes of finding Bart, but they returned to tell Lisa that they had found no trace of her brother. Lisa slammed her fist on the table.
“Honestly Lisa, I remember you having a good head on your shoulders, I’m sure you could have figured it out by now” Bob teased the girl.

“Where is he?!” Lisa yelled again, the fact that she couldn’t figure it out was nearly driving her insane as well. Bob looked at the clock; she would never make it in time. “Alright, as of right now Bart is in a very confined space which is about to get very hot” he smiled.

Lisa let out a loud gasp.

“He’s at the funeral home!”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Bart was in complete darkness when he woke up, his wrist tied tightly together in front of him, and there was a piece of duck tape around his mouth. Using his feet and his arms, it didn’t take long for the boy to realize where he was, the same place he feared being for three years: back inside a coffin, at first Bart panicked, but when the coffin started to move, no doubt into the fire, the young blond knew he had to focus.

The fire would burn away the coffin first, Bart kicked at the sides, hoping they would break loose, the fire was closing in around him but Bart managed to kick the entrance with his feet. But he was fully surrounded by flames. The hot licks burned him, but he brought his hands to the hottest part to when the rope snapped.

When Bart opened his mouth in a small cry of pain and success smoke engulfed his lungs and he started coughing.

Bart managed to crawl out of the flames and topple onto the cold floor, his clothes burned off, and his skin deep red, Bart was half blind, but managed to get a good look at what as around him:

Nothing,

Nobody had come for him,

Weakness and a horrible fit of coughing came over him, and he passed out . . . completely alone.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When Bart awoke he heard the beeping of a hospital machine, and saw a blurry vision of his family standing over him.

“Mom…Dad…?” he managed to choke out.

“Bart you’re okay, here drink this, we found you at the funeral home” Lisa explained handing him a large glass of water.

Bart let the cool liquid go down his extremely dry throat.

“Bart I’m so glad you’re okay, oh my special little guy” Marge cried as she gently held his burnt hand.

“Yeah we’re sorry we didn’t believe you boy” Homer said.

“But Sideshow Bob is in jail now, and you can come home with us” Lisa smiled.

“Thank you” Bart said weakly, before he fell back into the darkness again.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Bart had been back home for a week now, trying to adjust,  but how can his family (with the exception of Lisa) just go back the way things were and act like they never left him on his own in a mental asylum for three years?

“I’ll never leave you Bart” the hallucination of Sideshow Bob said, Bart never told anyone he was still seeing Bob everywhere for fear they would send him back.

Bob stood in the corner of Bart’s room, twirling Bart’s old yo-yo between his fingers, he wasn’t really there of course and Bart had lost that toy years ago, but to Bart he was just as real as ever.

“I know” the boy muttered.

Bob smiled wickedly.

“Bart, beddy by time” Marge called as she tucked him in just like she used to.

Bob nearly giggled as Bart was tucked in like a child.

“Now you don’t need to have anymore nightmares, Sideshow Bob is gone” Marge smiled.

“Yeah Mom” Bart said softly.

Physically Sideshow Bob would probably never hurt Bart again, but the boy couldn’t escape the fears of his own mind.

Sideshow Bob would never leave him.

Never.